Although the US military “do not seek” a new Cold War, it is determined to oppose the rising global powers – Russia and China – in order to protect the US-dominated “international order,” US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said.

Carter delivered this surprisingly direct and candid program statement, riddled with accusations against Russia for what he called “nuclear saber rattling” and “violating sovereignty” of US allies, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, AP reported on Saturday.

“Terror elements like ISIL, of course, stand entirely opposed to our values. But other challenges are more complicated, and given their size and capabilities, potentially more damaging. Some actors appear intent on eroding these principles and undercutting the international order that helps enforce them… Of course, neither Russia nor China can overturn that order. But both present different challenges for it,” Carter said.

According to AP, Russia and China are challenging “American preeminence” and Washington’s so-called “stewardship of the world order” as they reassert themselves on the international arena as serious military powers; RT reported.